Inside every person -- fit or on their way to fit, is a strong, motivated, determined Badass! Follow Cycling instructor and trainer Shannon Colavecchio down the road to a better, more Badass you.

Science

12/05/2011

Massages and 90-minute yoga classes. A new pair of kicks. A warm bath filled with Epsom salts, the door shut to keep out any distractions of pets, kids and family. A workout outfit to replace those ratty, baggy T-shirts we've been wearing.

Indulgent luxuries? Essentials in the Badass Journey? How about both? Massages and warm baths aren't essential like food and water, and we can always find excuses for "better things" to spend money on than sneakers and running pants.

But when you're pushing your muscles harder, running further and longer, and testing your physical limits, these luxuries become essentials. I learned the hard way recently, going a few months without regular massages and running in the wrong shoes for my pronating feet. Result: tweaked right hip flexor and glute.

When we're taking (or teaching) multiple classes per week, or training for a race or endurance event, we are asking a lot of those muscles and joints. And plenty of research shows there are real and measurable benefits from some of these "luxuries." So next time you think about skipping them or "going without," consider...

1. Massages and yoga: An hour of massage has the equivalent healing benefits of 7 to 8 hours of sleep, my masseuse at Cabello's here in Tallahassee told me. A sports massage helps release the lactic acid that builds up with intense training. If you are lucky enough to find the right masseuse, regular visits can speed up muscle recovery and tightness - preventing injuries.

Yoga is equally beneficial, particularly for stretching muscles and improving flexibility so that we perform better when it counts. Yoga, depending on the variety, also can tone muscles and provide a gentle cardiovascular workout that counts as "active recovery." It reduces blood pressure, respiratory rate, and pulse rate, even as it boosts energy levels and helps us sleep better.

2. The right kicks and workout clothing: The owner of Shaw's Athletics, a shoe and clothing store here in Tallahassee, cringes every time he walks past the group fitness room at his gym and sees people doing a step or kickboxing class in running shoes. He also cringed when I went in a few weeks ago for inserts and he saw how much I pronate without them. Investing in a good pair of sneakers - and a pair for each of whatever activity you do - is NOT a luxury. Skipping out for a cheap pair is like going into battle with a toy gun. You might survive a few skirmishes, but eventually it will catch up with you. I learned the hard way, and will never be so foolish again. Your body - including your feet - is your machine. The armor you protect it with is just as important as the fuel you put into it.

This applies to workout clothes, too. It isn't necessary to buy the most expensive line of workout gear out there, and lucky for us places like Target carry good and affordable lines like C3 by Champion. But to perform your best, you need clothes that let your skin breathe and your arms and legs move. If you cycle, you need cycling shorts. If you do yoga, sweatpants and baggy T are not the way to go.

3. Epsom salt baths: I am not sure where these were hiding all my 30-plus years, but I have finally awakened to the awesomeness of Epsom salt baths and am addicted. Just 15 or 20 minutes in a warm Epsom salt bath a couole of times a week can make a big difference in your muscle recovery time. Do it at the end of the day, and it will also ease you right to sleep.

Epsom salt is rich in magnesium, which is absorbed through the skin as we soak in it. Magnesium helps reduce inflammation, thus cutting down on pain and muscle cramps. It is vital to bodily functions including muscle control, energy production and the elimination of toxins. It is also a natural stress reliever - helping the body to bind serotonin, the mood-elevating chemical that gets released from the brain.

I have been diligent in "indulging" in bi-monthly massages, weekly hot yoga, the right shoes, and Epsom salt baths. Result: A healing hip flexor and glute, and stronger performance in classes and my own weight training.

12/01/2010

Today, we celebrate a rare occurrence in the Badass Universe. Today, we celebrate confirmation that something we THOUGHT was a guilty indulgence turns out to be a HEALTHY, must-have food in our Badass sports training Arsenal.

Today, we celebrate...chocolate milk!!!

It's true. That creamy chocolate deliciousness we used to chose over apple juice or lame, plain milk while trudging through the elementary school cafeteria turns out to have been the choice of Badasses-in-the-making.

We spend all sorts of cash on "sports drinks" and "protein shakes," yet various studies increasingly show that the best post-workout fuel for endurance athletes is chocolate milk. Suh-weet!!!

For example, a recent study published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism cited fat-free or low-fat chocolate milk as the ideal post-exercise recovery drink -- better than plain milk, water, or Gatorade, Powerade and the like.

Here's why:

1. Chocolate milk has twice as many carbohydrates and protein as plain milk, water and most sports drinks. Eight ounces of reduced fat milk contains between 160-170 calories, and skim milk contains 160 calories approximately per eight ounces. That's ideal for replenishing overworked muscles after a long run, cycle and/or swim.

2. Chocolate milk is high in water and in nutrient-dense electrolytes such as potassium, calcium and magnesium, so it replaces the fluids you lose when you sweat through a long workout.

3. Chocolate milk is low in sodium and (natural) sugars, and it's corn syrup and processed-sugar-free -- providing just the right amount of nutritional energy to athletes.

No wonder athletes like Olympian Michael Phelps drew are often spotted drinking the stuff!

A note of caution: This research is NOT a pass to chug gallons and gallons of chocolate milk, nor to add Hershey's chocolate syrup to your oatmeal and frozen yogurt! The research found that chocolate milk is best for cyclists, swimmers and long-distance runners because their endurance training and events burn up lots of energy. That means they need more calories, carbs, and protein than the average gym rat who jogs in the treadmill for 20 minutes and lifts weights for 30.

03/01/2010

Reason No. 858 to work those Badasses into high gear: It will make you smarter. I'm not just talking about that feeling of alertness or the "runner's high" you get right after a good workout. It's more than that.

Exercise actually grows your brain. How Badass is THAT?! I mean, every time we take a Spinning class or go for a long run or kick butt on kickboxing, we are making ourselves not just stronger but more genius! And in the grand scheme of things, that's a better motivator to me than any number on the scale.

The research on exercise's affects on our brains is laid out in Dr. John J. Raney's relatively new book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. A Badass friend and fellow fitness devotee gave it to me a few weeks ago, and I couldn't put it down.

Spark affirms, in so many ways, what I suspected about exercise and how it affects my thinking. It affirmed what I see in older friends and aging relatives who stay active, and how much more alert and bright they seem compared to older acquaintances who give in to the rocking chair and Father Time.

Spark details many scientific studies and research findings about how exercise affects mood, learning capacity, and our enthusiasm for life -- but in interesting anecdotes, not dry scientist-speak. Still, I know the Badass Fitness Army is pressed for time, so I'll break down the highlights.

The next time you want to skip a workout, consider the following:

Exercise boosts the fertilizer in our brains: It elevates levels of a protein in the brain called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which author Ratey aptly calls "Miracle Grow for the brain." When you move your muscles, you send hormones into the brain, and there they mix with BDNF. That process boosts brain cell growth, mood and learning.

Exercise makes us not just smart, but happy smart: Those hormones released during exercise include seratonin, the mood booster; dopamine, which improves learning and attention span; and norephinephrine, which affects attention, motivation and arousal (Yep. You read right, Badasses. Better sex...)

Exercise improves memory and capacity for learning: A 2007 German study found that people learn vocabulary words 20 percent faster after exercise than they did before exercise, and the higher rate of learning correlates with higher levels of BDNF in the participants after exercise. Those who exercised at higher intensities showed even greater gains. Remember that the next time you ponder whether to pick up your pace or add tension to that elliptical trainer!

Exercise improves our children's school performance: The California Department of Education for the past five years has found that students with higher fitness scores also have higher test scores.

Exercise reduces anxiety and depression: Dr. Ratey has been able to take many of his patients off medication, or reduced it, after they started exercising regularly. Example: A 1999 Duke University study divided 156 depression patients into three groups. One took just Zoloft, one just exercised. The other did a combo of drug and exercise. All three groups showed a marked drop in depression, meaning the exercise was just as effective as the Zoloft.

Regular exercise keeps our minds young: A 2001 Quebec study of over 4,100 elderly men and women found that women over 65 who did more exercise were 50 percent less likely to develop dementia than their inactive elderly counterparts.

So what are you waiting for? Let the healthy of your brain motivate you, not the scale or the image you think you want based on all those unrealistic magazines. Because guess what? As you keep exercising in hopes of getting smarter and performing better in all aspects of work, life, and play, an amazing thing will happen.

Your jeans will get looser. The scale will start dropping. You'll find muscles you forgot you had. And one day, you'll wake up and realize that you are ...a head-turning, SmartAss Badass!

So get your Badasses to a treadmill, to a bike trail, to a long running route! Take a kickboxing class, a step class -- whatever you prefer. Get your sweat on, and do it regularly. The benefits are too Badass to ignore. Just ask your brain.